Destination: Big Apple

My travel plans to NYC are set! I'll be there from July 28-31, flying into and out of Newark, and I've reserved a hotel room in Midtown Manhattan in case I'm not able to crash at my friend/former co-worker Brian's apartment. I don't really have a set itinerary of stuff to do while I'm there. I hope to hang out with Brian and/or my childhood friend Mel, who both live and work in Manhattan. There's also a promising new musical called Spring Awakening that "New Yorker extraordinaire" (hehe) Greg has told me about. I would also like to check out the Museum of Modern Art, which I did not get to see the first time I was in NYC (two summers ago). Other than that I'll probably just roam about Manhattan, do some window shopping, take random photos, and such. I'm excited already! :-)

IU baby one more time

I've just returned home from a trip to Bloomington, Indiana, to attend my sister Lori's graduation from Indiana U. with a bachelor's in elementary ed (woohoo!). I drove down yesterday with my parents and grandma. Traffic was really bad along I-80/94 on the way there due to construction. Our trip took about one hour longer than usual. When we got there Lori and her roommate Clarissa had a yummy dinner waiting for us and we had fun chatting and relaxing for a bit, then we headed over to our hotel room (Motel 6 - they left the light on for us ;-)) for some shut-eye. Unfortunately I did not get a whole lot of shut-eye, as both of my parents plus my grandma burst into a cacophony of snores before I fell asleep. :-P My grandma even talked in her sleep a few times (in a conversational tone, even... it was like she was chatting on the phone with a friend in her dreams, LOL). Anyway, I was a little cranky this morning but after breakfast at McD's I was in better spirits.

The graduation ceremony at IU's Assembly Hall was very nice. The keynote speaker was Michael Uslan, IU alum and the man behind the Batman movies. The Assembly Hall was packed to the rafters. After the ceremony it took a little while to locate my sister, Rho, Jaclyn, Ben, and my mom and grandma (they were seated apart from my dad and me, in an accessible area since my grandma can't handle too many stairs) but eventually we all got together and found Lori's roommate Clarissa and her family and fiance. After some photo-taking (picture! picture!) we headed over to Lori and Clarissa's apartment for another home-cooked meal, this time spaghetti with spinach salad and garlic bread, with chocolate pie for dessert (yum). After commiserating with Clarissa's family, we headed back onto the road for our trip home, which thankfully went a little quicker than our drive down yesterday.

So, this was probably my last trip down to Indiana University, at least to visit my sister. It's a really nice campus so if the opportunity arises I wouldn't mind driving down there again some time. But preferably not until after the road construction on 80/94 is done. ;-)

St. Louis wrap-up

I'm back home from my St. Louis trip. The flight home was uneventful... I slept for most of it, hehe. I did end up dropping over $40 (including tip) on a cab from my hotel to the STL airport though. Good thing I stopped at the ATM last night, since the cab driver said he didn't take credit cards on Sundays.

On Flickr I've posted a bunch of skating championships photos and general sightseeing photos from my trip.

Overall I had a great time in St. Louis, watching the skating, doing some sightseeing, and visiting with friends. I wasn't sure if my decision not to get a rental car would hamper me, but most everything I wanted to see was within walking distance or a Metrolink ride away from my hotel, so it turned out fine. And now I can add Missouri to my "visited states" map! :-)



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St. Louis day 3

I made my way to the Gateway Arch this morning. My plan was to hop on the Metrolink to the Arch and take the tram up to the top by 11am, take photos, grab lunch somewhere, and get to Savvis Center by 1pm. I did arrive at the Arch by 11, but my grand plan was thwarted as the first available tram ride was scheduled for 12:15 (oops). Still, I decided to wait around, since I was there anyway, and I wouldn't be too disappointed to miss the first group of skaters at the men's long program event. So, I walked around the Museum of Westward Expansion exhibits before queueing up for the tram ride up. Once up top, I took some scenery photos while trying to not fall down on the curved floor. :-)


The Gateway Arch 


View from the top of the Arch 

I hustled back to the Metrolink after leaving the Arch and made it to Savvis Center shortly after 1pm. Turns out that the men's event started a few minutes late so I didn't miss anything after all, although I didn't have a chance to get lunch beforehand (I made do with a soft pretzel later). The skating was mostly just so-so until the final group. The top four all skated inspired programs that drew standing ovations. Two of my fellow native-Illinoisans, Evan Lysacek and Matt Savoie, finished second and third and will be on the Olympic team with the US champ, Johnny Weir. Michael Weiss ended up in fourth but also gave a strong performance.

The ladies' event wasn't quite as well-skated, but Sasha Cohen won with a nice program that only had a couple of minor stumbles out of jumps. Kimmie Meissner moved up from 4th place to take the silver by landing more triples than anyone, although I didn't much care for her program. Emily Hughes (sister of Sarah) had some mistakes and dropped to third. After the event, I found my SkateFan friends Erik and Catherine and we watched the medal ceremonies for both the ladies and the men. Several of the SkateFan folks headed off to dinner, but since they were going to eat near their hotel which was in the opposite direction of mine, I opted to say my farewells at this point and headed back to my hotel. It was great to see them this weekend though.


Sasha Cohen receives her awards 

Tomorrow my flight home is scheduled to depart around 2:30pm. I think I'll be taking a cab since there is a service disruption on the St. Louis Metrolink due to construction that would necessitate me transfering to a bus between two intermediate stations, and I don't want to have to schlep my bags off the train and onto a bus and back onto the train again. :-P Aside from that though, I have to say that the Metrolink was very comfortable and clean, as was most of the downtown St. Louis area that I saw.

St. Louis day 2

Today I had lunch with my UIUC engineering classmate Diane who lives in the St. Louis area. We met up at the Houlihan's in Union Station. It was nice to catch up. We hadn't seen each other since our friends Steve and Sarah's wedding back in 2003.


Diane and me at Houlihan's 

My left ankle was still in pain from the new boots this morning, unfortunately. Yesterday I had noticed that the Foot Locker store in Union Station was having a sale, so today after lunch I stopped in and ended up buying a pair of casual sneakers. :-) They felt very comfortable, and I didn't have a pair of casual (as opposed to athletic) sneakers yet anyway, so it was $40 well-spent, hehe.

After chilling at the hotel for a bit I ventured back out to Savvis Center for more skating action. It was snowing and windy so it was a brisk walk. :-P The first event was the senior pairs final. I sat with my fellow skatefans (including Erik, Liz, Sylvia, Catherine, and Jessica) for the last three groups. The winners, Rena Inoue & John Baldwin, landed a throw triple axel - the first one done in competition by any pair in the world. It was quite a feat, and they received a huge standing ovation from the crowd.

I grabbed a hot dog for dinner then went back to my assigned seat for the senior ice dance final. As expected, Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto (who's from Chicago!) won easily, but a number of other top teams turned in strong and entertaining performances that got loud ovations. After the event I stuck around for the medal ceremonies for senior ice dance, junior ladies, and senior pairs.


Senior pairs medalists 

Tomorrow I plan to check out the Gateway Arch. The weather is supposed to be nicer so I hope to get some good photos!

Meet me in St. Louis

I arrived in St. Louis today for my first vacation trip of 2006!


View of downtown St. Louis from the entrance to my hotel 

My flight from Chicago arrived on time, and I took the Metrolink (light rail) from the airport to Union Station in downtown St. Louis. From there I walked a few blocks to my hotel. The weather was nice and spring-like today - sunny and warm (for January). My hotel room wasn't ready yet when I got there (which I kind of expected since it was not even 1pm) so I had them store my luggage while I walked back to Union Station to grab some lunch and buy a few souvenir trinkets for the family. :-)


St. Louis Union Station 

Around this time the back of my left ankle started hurting from the new boots I was wearing. I should have brought a second pair of shoes but I when I first put my boots on this morning they felt fine. Doh! Anyway, after I went back to the hotel and checked in I put a second sock on my left foot for extra padding which helped a little. Hopefully the boots will feel more "broken in" tomorrow.

After a short nap, I headed back to Union Station for dinner before making my way to Savvis Center to watch the ladies' short program event at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. I called my friend Erik from Texas who was also in town attending the championships and found out where he was sitting. During the zamboni break, I moved from my original seat in the nosebleed section down to where he and his friends were seated (lower bowl, much closer to the ice). The action felt much more intense from there. I've always been in awe of what figure skaters can do on the ice on those skinny blades! This is the biggest skating competition I've ever been to and I enjoyed tonight's event even though a lot of the skaters had mistakes. I'm looking forward to watching all the senior-level long program events tomorrow and Saturday.


Kimmie Meissner skates her short program 

Tomorrow I plan to sleep in :-) then meet up with my enginerd friend Diane for lunch, before heading back over to Savvis Center. The weather is supposed to be cooler and rainy tomorrow. I'm glad I brought my umbrella!

Welcome! Bienvenue! Bienvenido! Mabuhay!

Welcome to my new "travelblog" which will chronicle my current and future travels for work and (hopefully more often!) pleasure. To get this blog started I have copied over some travel-related entries from my old Blogspot, the RONaround. As of today, I have no major upcoming travel plans other than a long weekend trip to St. Louis in mid-January. I will be meeting some friends from when I went to UIUC and attending some of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where the 2006 Olympic figure skating team for the USA will be determined. Later this year I would like to visit my cousins in California and/or Maryland, and maybe make a return trip to NYC where I first traveled to in summer of 2004.

I hope to share lots of fun travel stories in the coming months and years!

Mazeltov

Got back yesterday from a *wonderful* weekend in St. Joseph, MI, for my friends Kathy & Matt's wedding. They had a very nice Jewish + Catholic ceremony outdoors in a bandshell along the St. Joseph River, followed by an elegant and festive reception at the heritage center in town. I sat with some of my current and former co-workers and had a great time chatting and dancing. The following day, Kathy and Matt held a bbq at Silver Beach along Lake Michigan... lovely scenery, great weather, and yummy food. All in all it was a very fun weekend. Also, I was very happy with the shots I was able to get with my new camera. Here are a few photos from the event:


Kathy & Matt exchanging rings 


My friends and me with Kathy 


Me at Silver Beach 

I took the day off work today to "recover" :) ... yay for three-day weekends! I've done a bit of cleaning around the house so far today, and I'll probably head out this afternoon to get my car washed and maybe run some other errands. I should try to hit the gym some time today too.

This week I plan to register for fall classes at DePaul. Actually I think I will take just one class in the fall quarter. I'm planning to take an Econ course that I hear is pretty challenging. It's been nice having a bit of a break from classes. Just about one more month left before school starts up again! I'm sure it will fly by.

I feel so old!

I was in Bloomington, IN from Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon, celebrating Lori's 21st birthday. I drove down with Mark, and met up there with Greg, Rhoda, and Jerry. Some of Lori's friends also joined in the festivities. We started out at a local deli/sports bar for dinner, then went to two bars and a club (where we saw Mike & Joe play a set). It was a fun time, although I felt my age when I started getting tired around midnight and realized we had a couple hours of partying left. :) Anyway, it was great to hang out with the gang, and we have some fun stories to re-tell and memories to look back on. ;)

Back home, but not for long

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. My family and I went to two gatherings, both lots of fun with lots of food. :) I had fun playing with the various kidlets, plus Wayne & Vicky's 6-month old pup Kate who is so sweet and has grown so much since I last saw her. Mocha was pretty good yesterday too... he was as usual very excited to see Mark & Tita Marie when they stopped by. Oh! And at the first party, the gang surprised me with a (belated) birthday cake! Very cool and unexpected. :)

I was among the many travelers affected by the nasty weather in Chicago on Wednesday. I was originally scheduled to arrive around 4pm... my flight eventually landed at midnight and I got home around 2am. My original flight out of Albany was cancelled after we waited about four hours... I got re-booked (in first class!) on the next flight which was also very delayed. Then on our first landing approach into O'Hare we had to abort because another plane didn't clear the runway in time (doh). Finally we landed, taxiied for a while, I waited 20 minutes for my checked bag, trudged through the snow in the parking lot, and finally drove off around 1:30am. Fortunately there was no traffic at that time :) so I got home pretty quick. Anyway, I am glad I made it home safely and didn't have to spend the night at the airport!

I start my new assignment in Cincinnati on Monday (already - so much for downtime!)... I know some people there from the Chicago office so that'll be good. This is supposed to be a pretty short gig, too... six weeks or so. We'll see how it goes!

Back from Cali

Just got back tonight from my trip to Cali... Had a great time with family out there. Thanks so much to Jay, Karen, Rommel, Tita Lita & Uncle Carlos for their hospitality! I'm also glad to have met Karen's new baby Sydney and to see big sister Sam again. :)

Edit: Some pics from my Cali trip:

 
Me w/Jay, Uncle Carlos, and Tita Lita 

 
Me w/sleepy Sydney 

 
Sydney and Sam  

Maryland fun

I spent a wonderful weekend in Maryland with my uncle and his family. I got to hang out with my two little cousins, one who turned 6 on Sunday :) and one who's 8. On Saturday we went to the 6-year-old's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, then Sunday we drove up to Baltimore to check out the aquarium and inner harbor (we even rode a paddleboat). Fun time! Now I am tired but it was worth it :)

Tita Marie's wedding is coming up on Saturday. That should be interesting. Also, on Friday I'm meeting up with one of my college roomies and good pal Mark E. I haven't seen him since his wedding a couple years ago, so I'm looking forward to catching up.

Edit: Here's a photo from my Maryland visit:


Me w/my uncle and cousins at Inner Harbor in Baltimore 

It's up to you, NY, NY

Just spent a full and fun weekend in Manhattan with Mom and Tita Cora. Arrived early Saturday morning via Amtrak, grabbed some breakfast at a Sbarro near Macy's, and then started our sightseeing bus tour. First stop was Empire State Building, where we went up to the observatory to see NYC from above. We hopped back on the bus tour and rode through several Manhattan neighborhoods (Greenwich Village, SoHo, TriBeCa) till we reached Battery Park, where we had lunch and shopped for some trinkets. Back on the bus, we rode back uptown through Little Italy, Chinatown, past the U.N. building, Central Park South, and back to Times Square. At Times Square we stood in line at the TKTS booth and managed to score 1/2-price tickets for "Rent" that evening! We then shopped at Macy's, grabbed a light dinner at a nearby deli, then rested up before heading back out to catch the show... which was excellent.

That was Saturday (whew). On Sunday, we went out for breakfast, went to mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, then caught the sightseeing bus back to Battery Park to catch the Statue of Liberty ferry. Back in Times Square, we stopped in at the big Hershey's Store for some chocolate-based souvenirs :) and then rushed back to the hotel so I could pick up my bags and catch my train back to Albany. All in all, a fun weekend, and now I'm tired, but it was worth it! Pics to come...

Edit: Here's a random sampling of photos from my Manhattan trip:


View from Empire State Building observation deck 


Mom taking a photo of the Empire State Building (LOL) 


Umbrella art exhibit in Battery Park 


Horse & carriage near Grand Army Plaza 


The Hershey's Store!!! 


Street musicians near the tkts booth 


The hustle and bustle of Times Square 


Me w/Lady Liberty 

Meet me in... Albany?

Meet me in... Albany? I got assigned to the eMedNY project today. I start on Monday! Not looking forward to winter travel, and this might mess things up with the class I'm taking. On the positive side, I know a bunch of Chicago-based people already working on the project, so I won't feel all alone out there.

Easter at IU

Tomorrow my parents and I (and maybe Lola too) will be driving down to IU to visit my sis. She'll be getting confirmed at the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. Congrats to her! :)

Work went pretty well this week from a productivity standpoint, but there have been some frustrating management issues. Oh well. I guess you find this kind of thing at every job.

Better go pack for tomorrow's trip! Happy Easter to all who celebrate it! :)

Chambana-rama

Great weekend in Chambana! Mark & Amy's wedding was so nice. It took place at Amy's parents' home. It was an intimate ceremony but very nicely done. It was great to see Mark again, as well as several of his friends from Edwardsville who I had met while we were roomies at UIUC. After the dinner (which was wonderful), there was some music and dancing and socializing time, then Amy's dad started a big bonfire in the yard where several of us gathered to sit and chat.

After the wedding I hung out with Greg & Julie at their apartment, and slept on their easy chair. :) I treated them to Sunday brunch at Perkin's, then on my way home I drove around campus to see what has changed since I left there. I also took a few minutes to walk around the engineering quad to check out some of my old hangouts. Then I drove home and took a much-needed nap. :)

Tomorrow I start my new project downtown. I'm looking forward to it mostly. The only thing I'm not so excited about is that I'll have to wait for the trains and buses in these darn below-normal fall temperatures. I had better find my scarf and gloves...

Orlandoooo

I returned from my Orlando trip this morning. It was a great time! Elaine and her new husband Joe had a lovely wedding ceremony, and a small but fun reception. Afterwards, Elaine & Joe and several friends and I headed out to a mall near our hotel to hang out and have a relaxed dinner. My parents and godmother, Elaine's parents, and another couple went out separately around the same time. Guess which group got back first? Yup, some of the "kids" (including myself) returned to the hotel shortly after 10pm while the parents waltzed in laughing and giggling around 11pm. Well, I'm glad they had fun too. :)

Right now my mom is in NJ at a reunion with people from her hometown in the Philippines. She was chosen to give the opening speech at the reunion dinner. I hope it went well. I also hope someone videotaped her so my dad and sister and I can watch. hehe

OK, gotta fold laundry. Fun, fun.

See y'all, Huntsville

I'm finished with my NASA assignment! I'm gonna miss the people here but I'm definitely ready to head back home and hopefully to a new project assignment in the Chicago area. I am glad though that I got to experience life in the "Deep South" for a little while, and that I got to spend time with Tita Fe and Tito Oscar and their family here.

Tomorrow is my parents' 34th (!!) wedding anniversary. :) We're going to Maggiano's for lunch to celebrate. Should be fun (and filling).

Back from Spain!

I'm back from Spain! My sister and I were (barely) able to leave Chicago for Madrid on Wednesday afternoon. We arrived in Madrid shortly after 11am Thursday and had a wonderful time with our host family and other friends we met there. I'll maybe go into more detail later, but all I have to say is I wish I could have stayed at least a week longer and I hope to be able to go back and visit again before too long!

And now, I have to unpack my stuff and sort out all the souvenirs I bought... :)

Edit: Pics are up! Also, I've copied over the blurbs about the trip that I posted on my personal website...

Day 1 - July 25, 2002: Today we arrived in Spain, met Sandra's family, had lunch, took a siesta :) and then set out to see Alcala de Henares. We met up with Sandra's friend Dani who accompanied us around town. We visited a church down the street from Sandra's flat, Cisneros University, Plaza de Cervantes (the main town square in Alcala and a very popular gathering place), and other places around downtown Alcala. That night we saw a performance by the Ballet Raza dance troupe which presented a series of folk dances from different regions of Spain.

Day 2 - July 26, 2002: Today Sandra and Lorena took us to Sandra's university campus in Alcala. We toured the building she takes classes in. We then met their mom in Plaza des Irelandeses for a snack, then we walked home to have lunch. After lunch, we met up with Dani again, and Sandra's dad drove us to Parque Corredor, a large shopping mall nearby. We bought a bunch of souvenirs there and had some refreshments as well. We then caught a bus back to Alcala and had dinner at Sandra's home.

Day 3 - July 27, 2002: Today Sandra and her parents drove us to Segovia, a city about one hour drive from Madrid. Among other things, we saw a gorgeous cathedral, a huge castle, and an ancient aqueduct. After enjoying a nice lunch, we visited a palace built by a former king, which featured a huge garden area with several ornate fountains, some of which were turned on for the visitors' enjoymenet. On the way back to Alcala we drove into the mountains near Madrid.

Day 4 - July 28, 2002: Our sightseeing today took place in Madrid and El Escorial. Lori and I went with Lorena and her dad. We first went up Faro de la Moncloa, an observation tower in Madrid from which you can take in a great view of the city. We also saw a former presidential retreat, where leaders from other countries stay when they visit Spain. Next we traveled to El Escorial where there is a large monastery. After touring the monastery and grabbing lunch in El Escorial, we drove back to Madrid and rode in Teleferico (a "sky-ride" over part of the city). Later we walked/drove around the downtown area and other interesting sites.

Day 5 - July 29, 2002: We spent today shopping for souvenirs and checking out other sites in and around Alcala. We visited Dani's university campus, stopped by El Corte Ingles (a large upscale mall nearby), and walked around our favorite areas in Alcala. Then we enjoyed one last dinner with Sandra and her family before sitting, chatting, listening to music, and reluctantly getting ready for our trip home the next morning.

Passport oopsy

Woops, we hit a snafu in our trip to Spain, before we even left... Somehow, neither my sister, my parents, nor I managed to notice that my sister's passport expired two years ago. DOH! The agent at the check-in counter informed us of this fact. She asked if I would like to travel today as planned and have my sister catch up tomorrow, but sis wasn't too keen on that idea since she'd have to navigate the Amsterdam airport by herself during her connection. Anyway, my mom scheduled a "rush" appointment with the passport office tomorrow morning. If all goes well we will be able to make it to the airport in time to catch our late-afternoon flight; our trip would just be cut short by one day (the gate agent kindly re-booked us on a flight tomorrow free of charge). If there's a delay, however, either I'll have to head off to Spain by myself, or we'll pay a ticket-change penalty to push the departure and return dates back even farther. Egads!